[custom_adv] The orangutans (also spelled orang-utan, orangutang, or orang-utang) are three extant species of great apes native to Indonesia and Malaysia. [custom_adv] Orangutans are currently only found in the rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra. Classified in the genus Pongo, orangutans were originally considered to be one species. [custom_adv] From 1996, they were divided into two species: the Bornean orangutan (P. pygmaeus, with three subspecies) and the Sumatran orangutan (P. abelii). In November 2017 it was reported that a third species had been identified, the Tapanuli orangutan (P. tapanuliensis). [custom_adv] Great apes are a branch of primates that include chimps, bonobos, gorillas and orangutans. They’re important to scientists because they’re closer to humans than any other animals. When they do things that humans can, we gain insights into how we may have evolved. [custom_adv] Language is one of the biggest mysteries of evolution. Scientists have yet to figure out why humans and other primates have so much in common, but do not share the ability to talk. However, primates like Rocky reveal that we may be more alike than we’d thought. [custom_adv] Until recently, scientists believed primates couldn’t imitate humans. Attempts to teach chimps and bonobos to speak had failed, so researchers had assumed primate calls must be a reflex, similar to laughter or crying in humans, as they are often a response to threat. [custom_adv] Genomic comparisons show that the Tapanuli orangutan separated from the Sumatran orangutan about 3.4 million years ago. The Tapanuli orangutan separated from the Bornean orangutan much later, about 670,000 years ago.
